Category Archives: Playwrights

Post navigation

Listen in as Really Really Gorgeous playwright Nick Mecikalski discusses what happens when the media is filtered through only one lens, trust in personal relationships, the journey from digging a script out of a drawer to getting on the stage, the power of celebrity, and “what happens when climate change gets personal.”

“We know this is already happening for people around the world…the really scary questions that I think creep in the back of our minds…will it change whether I can follow my dreams? Will it change my career? Will it change where I have to live? Will it change my relationships?…”

Listen in as playwright Johnny G. Lloyd and director William Steinberger of Or, An Astronaut Play discuss capitalism, Emerson, childlike wonder, designing to your space, stealing kids’ artwork, and why the play goes to space school (as well as literal space).

“…it’s a play about race, and privilege, and access, but also, still, about finding access to that inner child, and finding a way to negotiate that…”

Listen in as “Strangers in the Night” contributing playwrights Patricia Lynn (writer of Screwed, portrayer of “Molly”, director of Frank) & Philip Estrera (writer of the Frank monologues, who also performs “Stranger” in Bottling Dreams of the Tearful Don’t-Knower), along with fellow Bottling… actor Natalie Hegg (“Other Half”), discuss creating a complete theatrical experience out of one act plays, sketches in rehearsal, provocative nocturnal stories, doing that one thing well, collaboration, different extremes of theatricality, & the intimacy that can develop between total strangers.

“…one little thing would totally change the way the scene would go…a creative, supportive battleground…”

Listen in as writer (and performer) Alexander V. Thompson of the podcast Cryptids discusses late-night conspiracy shows, moving from the stage to a podcast, performing on mic, letting the audience fill in the blanks, adjusting images to audio, and the love of radio.

“I’m in love with radio…and I really wanted to play in that space…taking all of these visual elements that I had created as a playwright, and all the theatre magic and stage magic that I kind of envisioned in it, and then totally repurposing those into an audio medium…”

Listen in as The Sea The Mountains The Forest The City The Plain playwright Matthew Freeman, along with director David Cote & performer Robert Honeywell, discuss how to discover your character, propulsive changes & musicality, abstract simplicity, friendship and aging, moving through the words, finding your collaborators, embracing your influences, and moving on to the next thing on your journey.

“…change is a constant, and change can come with a sense of loss…you hit this sort of middle part of your life, and you look around, and you miss the things that came before, even if you love the life that you have. So I think that feeling is inspiring the piece a little bit…”

Listen in as the director/creator of Thoughts & Prayers, Lauren Hlubny, along with composer/”Felix” Thomas Giles, discuss the meaning of “dance-theatre concerto,” encouraging presence, developing a process to combine artistic disciplines, starting conversations, and not only reacting but taking action.

“…I think it’s very easy to become numb to it, and not know how to take action…creating this piece came, for me, as a point of wanting to do something, or at least wanting to be involved with other people, and start conversations…”

Listen in as In the Penal Colony writer/director/producer Miranda Haymon, along with set designer Emmie Finckel and lighting designer Cha See, discuss the relationship and performance of patriarchy & punishment, how the show’s designers interacted with their process, sites of judgement, machines, building a highly physical piece with little dialogue, avoiding the “bad version” of the play, supporting design choices, and how Kafka’s 100-year-old short story resonates today.

“…I feel that this piece is directly engaging with the real live bodies and the real live circumstances in a way that feels gripping, and theatrical, and REAL…we’re able to get folks in the room, and have a real, live, conversation…”

Listen in as the creators & performers of Crushing Baby Animals, Maria Swisher & Tana Sirois, discuss amazing synchronicity, combining genres in a multi-dimensional world, structured improv, cross-pollination among artists, “stylistic dis-integrity,” making space for the chaos and the wonder, how to build intense trust with your artistic collaborators, how to stick through the difficult stuff, and how “our sense of self is shaped by the people around us.”

“…stay with the trouble…something that we have learned is even when things feel very uncomfortable, or when you find yourself having to ask something that’s difficult of your partner […] and consistently make the decision to stick with it, and to experience what feels troubling and complicated, and know that you have a shared goal of moving past it […] and let that influence your work, and accept each other for that…”

Listen in as Whore writer/producer/performer Suzanne Tufan and director Lindsey Hope Pearlman discuss “showing the emotion of little moments,” the various masks we create, working as a director with the writer/performer, the roller-coaster of baring one’s soul in a public setting, playfulness within serious personal material, and transformation, survival, and hope.

“I thought it was an important story to share, because I think we have so many misconceptions about women and sexuality. The word ‘whore’ is this dirty word, and women get these dirty words thrown at them from such a young age, for no reason…”

“…when you start to work on Don Quixote, and…you think about it, you realize, ‘oh my God, this is me’…as artists, too, you just keep trying to fight these windmills, and no matter how many times you get knocked down, you get back up, and you keep going…”